Matrix-making machine



G. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MACHINE.

No. 585,234. 5 Patented June 29,1897.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' 0. SEARS.

MATRIX MAKING MACHINE. No. 585,234. Patented June 29, 1897.

. v f; r? ,1 1 f I m n P '1 w r H J [a 'W/( i I 8 fim/h/lfi/W/Wl/W/AHIIKIEHWWW/lMW/W/W/W/hHmn L l1 Il El IUI EICIUEIDEICIEIDEIDDEIUEIIELUEHDUDDEICIDUDUD WITNESSES. IN VENTOR.

4, d; am! ZZ M (No Model.) 7 SheetsSheet 3.

G. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MAGHINE.

No. 585,234. Patented June 29,1897.

W TNESSES. INVENTOR.

(No Model.) v 7 SheetsSheet 4.

0. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MAGHINE.

Patented June 29 m. M L A 7 She ets-Shet 5.

(No Model.)

0. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MACHINE.

No. 685,234. Patented June 29,1897.

INVENTOR. %M (4% in w WITNESSES.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 6.

O. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MACHINE.

No. 585,234. Patented June 29, 1897.

WWWWWf/l/WWWW/[Wfl WITNESSES. [yr H1312. @144 F 1622 2 m 7 SheetsSheet 7.

(No Model.)

0. SEARS. MATRIX MAKING MACHINE.

No. 585,234. Patented June 29,1897.

WITNESSES.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rricn.

CHARLES SEARS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MATRIX-MAKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,234, dated June 29, 1897.

Application filed Octpher l l 8 94.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES SEARS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the count-y of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Matrix-Making Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

-My invention relates to the class of machines which are adapted to make matrices by impressing the several characters one by one into suitable impression-receiving material. I prefer to employ as the impressionrece-iving material small blocks of wood, and the machine in which my improvements are embodied is especially organized for operating upon such wood matrix-blocks.

The improvements relate to the combination, with the type-bars, of longitudinallymovable dies mounted thereon in substantially the described manner; to the mechanism for actuating the said dies; to the mechanism for imparting a differential feed-movement to the carriage; to the mechanism for facilitating the justifieation'of the matrixlines; to the mechanism for clamping the matrix-blocks to the carriage when they are receiving the impression of the dies, and to certain other parts of the machine, as will be hereinafter described, all of which will be pointed out definitely in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine when the extreme front part thereof has beencut off on the line 1 1 of Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the machine. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on lines 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a right end view. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the ratchet r and shaft r Fig. 7 is aside View of the outer end ofa type-bar. Fig. 8 is a View of said outer end, looking in the direction of arrow 8 in Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a ver- ,t-ical sectional view on line 9 9 of Fig. 2. Fig. 10 is a vertical section on line 10 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a vertical section on line 11 of Fig. 9. Fig. 12 isan enlarged top view of the left side of the machine when some of the parts Serial No. 525,506. (No model.)

are omitted and some of the frame of the machine is cut away and sectioned. Fig. 13 is a detail side view of the lever and bracket and the adjustable connection between them; and Fig. 14 is a view of the ratchet-wheel, showing a pawl and spring.

I. will now proceed with the description of the construction and mode of operation of the machine shown in the drawings, referring to the parts by reference-letters.

Aseries of type-barsA are pivoted to brackets a, and these brackets are secured to the curved bar ,a, which is a part of the rigid frame. The key-levers B are pivoted upon the transverse rod 1) at the rear end of the machine, and they extend therefrom forward, having the key-pieces 17 secured to their forward ends in the usual manner. Each keylever is connected by the link a with one of the type-bars A, whereby when a key-lever is depressed the corresponding type-bar is caused to swing upon its pivot from the substantially vertical position in which it normally stands to a substantially horizontal posit-ion, as shown by the dotted lines of Fig. 5. When the type-bar is in this last-named position, the impression of the die is made in the matrix-block. The springs 19 return the key-levers to their normal position, and consequently raise the type-bars to their vertical position.

The transversely-movable carriage C,which carries the matrix-block, is mounted on the rear part of the frame. This carriage. is moved from one side of the frame to the other, as hereinafter described, by the feed-screw P, which lies beneath the carriage and is mounted in the frame so that it has no endwise movement. Parts 0 of the carriage descend to and engage with the screw, whereby the rotation of the screw moves the carriage in one direction or the other.

The parts of the machine above explained are not new at this time, and I do not intend to claim them as new in this patent. They may be of any suitable construction adapted to cooperate with the other parts of the machine, to be presently explained.

Just back of the front edge of the carriage is a shoulder 0 against which the rear edge of the m atrix-block abuts while the impressions are being made therein. A hopper II is secured on top of the carriage at the right side thereof, the carriage forming the bottom of saidhopper. There is an opening through the left side of the hopper at the lower end thereof, through which the lowest matrixblock in the hopper maybe pushed to the left. A bar 7L is fixed to the right side of the frame, and its left end is adapted to enter the hopper through a hole in its right side when the carriage is moved over to the right.

The matrix-blocks K are preferably, as before stated, small pieces of wood, and they are formed so that the impressions of the dies shall be made against the ends of the wood fibers.

The clamping device for holding the matrix-blocks is a vertically-movable plate J, dovetailed into the front edge of a block 0 which is secured on the carriage. The plate J is adapted to be moved down upon the front part of the matrix-block, thereby clampingit to the carriage in the position to receive the impressions. Two rock-shafts F F are mount ed in the block 0 on the carriage. On their front ends are cams f, which enter holes in the plate J, whereby as the rock-shafts are rocked said plate J is moved down to clamp the matrix-block or up to release it. On the rear ends of said rock-shafts are the weighted arms f f,which are connected by the bar f The weight of the arms moves and holds the shafts F F in the position where the cams f hold this plate J down to clamp the matrixblock. At the left side of the frame is an arm f which when the carriage reaches the extreme left-hand position (when the matrix is completed) is struck by the left-hand arm f, which arm is turned just past the vertical position when it strikes the stop f (See Fig. 10.) The other arm f is moved at the same time through the bar f and the movement of these arms rocks the rock-shafts F F, thereby lifting the plate J and permitting the removal of the matrix-block. \Vhen the carriage is moved to the right-hand position, thereby causing a matrix to be pushed out of the hopper into position below the clamping-plate, the right-hand arm f strikes the arm fand is thereby moved to the left past the vertical position. Both arms f f fall by their own weight and cause the downward clamping movement of the plate J.

On the outer end of each type-bar A a longitudinally-movable die G is mounted. The type-bar is preferably made of a wroughtmetal (steel) plate, which is twisted at its on ter end substantially as shown, so that said outer end, when the type-bar is swung down, lies in a substantially horizontal position. The outer end of the type-bar is slotted, and a screw 9 passes through the said slot a and screws into the die. One or more pins g, secured to said die, also enter said slot and guide the die in its movement. The letter or other character projects from the outer end of the die. A projecting lug is formed upon the under side of its inner end, and a tapered hole (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7) is formed in its inner end.

It is evident that the above-described connection between the die and type-bar permits the easy removal of the die from the bar and the attachment of another die thereto, which die may bear a character of a different size. It is therefore plain that in a very short time all of the dies inay be changed, wherefore the machine may be quickly adapted to make matrices in different sizes and styles of type, provided the carriage-feeding mechanism is correspondingly changed. This change is provided for, and the mechanism for making it will be presently explained.

E represents a plunger which is movable backward and forward, and its function is to move the dies backward to impress them into the matrix-block and then forward to withdraw them. The plunger is mounted and guided upon the frame, the specific construction being that shown in Fig. 11, where two side gibs c e, which are secured to the frame, lie above shoulders e e on the sides of the plunger. A yoke I, which is fastened to the said gibs, has on its upper side the pins 2', between some two of which every type-bar in descending passes, and is thereby accurately guided to bring the dies into proper relation to the plunger. In the top of the plunger is a recess (2 into which the dies enter asthe type-bars are brought to the impression position. On the plunger isa tapering pin a, which as the plunger begins its backward movement enters the corresponding hole 9 in the inner end of the die.

A slide D lies upon the frame in a groove in the under side of the plunger. On its rear end is a vertical finger (Z, which lies between the plunger and the matrix-block. A tapering hole d is formed through this finger, and through this hole the end of the die passes as it moves to make its impression into the matrix-block. A shoulder d on said slide D engages with a shoulder a on the plunger, whereby as the plunger is moved forward the slide is moved in the same direction. A spring (1 lies in a recess below the plunger and presses the slide backward against the matrix-block as soon as the plunger begins its backward movement. An arm 6 extends forward from the plunger, passing between two cams on m, which are secured to the vertical driving-shaft M. The arm a is slot-ted to permit the shaft to pass through it. On the arm are two shoulders c and c which are engaged, respectively, by the two cams on m, and these cams serve to move the plunger backward and forward to make the impressions of the dies and to withdraw them.

On the lower end of the driving-shaft is a pulley m by means of which a constant force is applied to the shaft, tending to revolve it. Secured to the shaft M is an arm at", which ICC engages with a lug n 011 the laterally-movable bar N, and by reason of such engagement the revolution of the shaft is stopped.

The bar N lies just below and in contact with all of the key-levers B. It is secured to the arms n n, which are pivoted on the rod 01 which is secured to the sides of the frame. A spring 01 which is secured to one side of the frame, exerts its force to move and hold the bar N against the key-levers. When any key-lever is depressed, the bar N is moved down, and the lug n is moved below and out of contact with the arm m whereupon the shaft M revolves until it is stopped by the engagement of the arm m with the said lug n.

A bar L is secured to arms Z, which are rigidly attached to the rock-shaft Z. This bar extends across the machine and lies normally just in front of the ends of all of the key-levers. An arm l on the rock-shaft has pivoted to it the rod Z which extends rearward to the driving-shaft. The rod is slotted and the shaft passes through the slot. Two cams m m", secured to the shaft, lie, respectively, above and below said rod, and these cams engage with the projections Z Z thereon, wherefore as the shaft revolves when a keylever is depressed the rod is pushed forward and then drawn backward to its normal position. This rocks the rock-shaft Z whereby the bar L is caused to swing over against the top of the depressed key-lever and push it down the regulation distance. Incidentally said bar L passes beneath all of the other keylevers and prevents their downward movement, the under side of said levers being curved to permit the action.

A notched bar R lies beneath and close to all of the key-levers. This bar is removably secured by screws to the ends of the arms 1" 0", which are loosely mounted on the transverse shaft r shaft is prevented by the collars r which are secured to said shaft 7' in contact with the arms 0".

On one end of the shaft r a sprocket-wheel '2' is secured, and a chain belt r connects this sprocket-wheel with a sprocket-wheel p on the end of the feed-screw P. A ratchet-wheel r is loosely mounted on the shaft "r Means are providedas, for eXample,the cone-clutch and its operating mechanism (shown clearly in Fig. 6)for connecting and disconnecting said ratchet-wheel and the shaft 1*.

The clutching device for connecting and disconnecting the ratchet and shaft is provided, so that when a matrix-line is finished and the carriage is at the left side of the machine the ratchet may be disconnected from the shaft 1 whereupon said shaft may be revolved backward to draw the carriage over to the right, which could not be done without either lifting the pawls r? from the ratchet or disconnecting the ratchet from the shaft.

The clutch mechanism (shown in Fig. 6) for connecting and disconnecting the shaft 7' an d ratchet r is a con e-clutch of well-known Movement of said arms along the construction. The cone r which is adapted to engage with the ratchet, is slidable on the shaft and is moved by the fork-lever T and this lever is held in position to cause the ratchet to be clutched to the shaft by the camlever r The particular clutching mechanism shown and described is no part of the invention and any suitable clutching mechanism may be used in its place.

The bar R is extended through the side of the frame to a point adjacent to said ratchet, and a series of spring-pawls r are pivoted to said bar R and engage with said ratchet. Although all of these pawls engage with the edge of said ratchet they do so in different relation to the teeth. W'herefore when the bar R is moved one of these pawls engages directly with one of the ratchet-teeth and moves the ratchet without any appreciable lost motion.

It is evident that whenever any key is pushed down it strikes the bar R and moves it down, thereby moving the pawls 0"", which slide back upon the ratchet-teeth. When the key-lever is drawn to its normal position by the spring 6 the bar R is permitted to resume its normal position. It is moved to this position by the following mechanism: An arm 7- which is secured to 'one of the arms 0, is pivoted to the rearwardly-extended rod 1" The driving-shaft M passes through a slot 1' in this rod, and a cam m on said shaft M engages with a shoulder r on the rod 1" thereby forcing said bar forward and as a result returning the bar R to its position just below and close to the key-levers. As the bar R moves to this position the pawls r engage with and move the ratchet r and this movement of the ratchet is transmitted by the shaft 0*, sprocket-Wheels r and P, and chain r to the feed-screw. The movement of the feed-screw is therefore always proportionate to the amount of movement of the bar R.

The upper edge of the bar R is notched beneath the several key-levers. The notches r are of diiferent depths inversely proportionate to the width: of the characters on the dies which are associated with the keylevers above said notches, the notches being deepest which are below the key-levers associated with the typebars carrying the smallest letters. When the key-levers are depressed, they enter notches r and must go to the bottom of said notches before theybegin to move the bar. .Wherefore the levers associated with the dies having the smallest characters move the greatest distance before they strike and move the bar R. It is evident, therefore, that said bar is moved by the key-levers distances proportionate to the sizes of the characters on the different dies. Consequently the feed-screw is turned and the carriage is moved thereby each time a key-lever is depressed a distance proportionate to the width of the character on the die which corresponds with said key-levers. The bar R, as before stated, is secured to the arms 0* so that it may be quickly removed and another bar substituted therefor. Other bars are provided which have notches corresponding in depth with type of different sizes, and when the dies G are removed from the type-bars and other dies carrying type of different sizes are substituted a corresponding bar R must be substituted for the bar R formerly used.

In the bar below each of the notches r is a hole 0'. On the under side of each key-lever is a finger b, which as the said key-lever is pressed down enters the corresponding hole 7' and fits loosely therein. Consequently when any key-lever is moved down as far as it is intended to go and produces a corresponding downward movement of the bar R the upper and lower edges of the hole r bind upon said finger, and thereby prevent the bar R from moving by its own momentum beyond the point to which the key-lever has moved it.

U represents a copy-holder, and in the form shown it consists of two standards a a, fixed to the frame, and two rolls u M, mounted on said standards. The paper on which the copy is printed in letters proportionate to those on the dies in the machine is rolled upon one roll 21' and is wound from it onto the other roll a as the matrix-lines are made from said copy.

V represents a justifying-bar which slides horizontally through slotsin the standards to u. The bar has a slot 1;, through which a line of copy may be seen, and the length of said slot is equal to the length of a full line of copy. A bracket \V is secured to the left side of the machine, and a lever S is pivoted thereto on a movable fulcrum. One end of this lever is connected by a link 3 with the justifying-bar V and the other end is connected by the link 3' with the carriage. The justifying-bar is therefore moved to the right in front of the copy-line as the carriage is moved to the left during the impression of a matrix-line on the matrix-block carried by said carriage, and each movement of the carriage is accompanied by a proportionate movement of the j ustifying-bar. This mechanism permits the operator to justify a matrix-line as he makes it by the process described and claimed in the Patent No. 508,186, granted to me November '7, 1803. The pivot of the lever S is made adjustable, so that if the size of the letters on the dies be not the same as the letters in which the copy is printed the position of the pivot may be changed, and thereby cause the justifying-bar to move a greater or less distance than the carriage, but always proportionate to the movement of said carriage. The particular mechanism for ad justing the pivot is as follows: Several holes 10 are made in the bracket \V, into anyone of which the lower end .9 of the pivot may be inserted. A flange s in the middle of the pivot rests upon said bracket. The upper end .5 of the pivot is threaded, and it passes through a slot in the lever and is secured at any point to said lever by the nut s.

The operation of the described mechanism is as follows: A matrix-block is on the carriage, where it is clamped by the plate J. The weighted arms f 1 lie in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 10, whereby the cams f hold said plate down. The operator depresses a key-lever, thereby initiating the downward movement of a type-bar. The keylever in its downward movement forces the bar N down, thereby moving the projections n from in front of the arm m", and the shaft M begins to revolve. The first result of the revolution of the shaft is to cause the cam m to push the rod 1 forward, thereby rocking the rock-shaft l and causing the bar L to swing over against the top of the depressed key-lever and to force it down as far as it is intended to go. This causes the corresponding type-bar to swing down until the die on its end enters the depression c in the top of the plunger, which depression is formed to receive said die and the projections g thereon. The key-lever in moving to the described position presses the notched bar R down, thereby causing the pawls r to slide on the ratchet 7', which is at this time clutched to the shaft 1' by the mechanism provided for this purpose. The fingers b on the key-levers enter the holes r in the bar R and )revent its movement beyond the point to which it is positively pushed by the key-lever. The further revolution of the shaft M causes the cam m to push the plunger backward, and the plunger carries the die with it and causes the impression of the character to be made in the wood. The die passes through the tapered hole d in the finger d, being thereby guided, and the plunger striking said finger pushes it back against the matrix, which is thereby pushed back against the shoulder c on the carriage. The die is further guided by the engagement of the tapered pin c on the plunger in the hole 9 in the inner end of the die. As the shaft M continues to revolve the cam on draws the plunger forward, and the plunger pushing against the lug on the die withdraws it to its normal position on the typebar. Then the cam m" pushes the rod Z forward, thereby rocking the rock-shaft l and returning the bar L to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 4:. The spring b raises thekeylever, and the type-bar is returned to its vertical position. As the key-lever moves up ward it permits the notched bar R to move upward, which bar is so moved by the pressure of the cam 172 against the shoulder r on the rod 9' The bar N follows the key-lever upward, being moved by the spring a. The revolution of the shaft M is completed immediately thereafter, and it is stopped by the engagement of the arm m with the projection it. \Vhen the notched bar is moved upward, one of the pawls 0' engages with the ratchet and turns it a distance proportionate to the amount of the prior movement of said bar B. This movement of the ratchet is accompanied by a like movement of the shaft T and the movement of this shaft is transmitted by the sprocket-wheels r and p and the chain 1' to the feed-screw P. This moves the carriage to the left a distance equal to the width of the letters last impressed plus the width of the normal spaces betweenletters.

It is to be understood that each movement of the carriage causes a proportionate movement of the justifyin g-bar V, whereby the operator may know when and how many extra spaces are to be added, and it should be further understood that there must be in the machine one or more spacing-key levers, which have the same construction and mode of operation as the other key-1evers B, except that they are not connected with a type-bar. This operation is repeated until a full matrix-line has been made. The ratchet r is then disconnected from the shaft T and said shaft is revolved by means of the crank r to move the carriage to the left until the fixed arm f strikes the Weighted arm f and both arms ff are thereby turned up against the stop f. This causes the clamping-plate J to be raised to release the finished matrix. Then the shaft 7' is turned in the opposite direction, thereby moving the carriage to the right. The bar h enters the hopper and pushes the lowest matrix therein out against the finished matrix until said .finished matrix is pushed to the left out from under said plate J and the new matrix-block takes its place, as shown in Fig. 10. When this has been accomplished, the right arm f strikes the fixed arm f and the arms f f are swung to the left past the perpendicular. They then fall of their own weight, causing the plate J to move-down and clamp said new matrix-block. The ratchet r is then clutched to the shaft 1*, and the above-described operations are repeated.

Having described my machine, I claim 1. In a" matrix-making machine, in combination, a type-bar, means for operating it, a longitudinally-movable die mounted on the outer end of said type-bar, a plunger adapted to move said die, a carriage, means for clamping a matrix-block thereon, a slide having thereon a finger which has a hole through it and lies between the plunger and matrixblock, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a matrix-making machine, a series of type-bars, corresponding key-1e vers, connecting mechanism, and longitudinally-movable dies mounted one on each type-bar, combined with a plunger adapted to move said dies, a revoluble shaft adapted to operate the plunger, an arm secured thereto, and a laterallymovable bar lying beneath and close'to all of the key-levers and having a lug with which said arm on the shaft is adapted to engage, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a matrix-making machine, in combination, a transversely-movable carriage, a feed-screw, the pivoted key-levers, a laterallyoscillating notched bar extending beneath all of the key-levers and secured to pivoted arms, a ratchet-Wheel pivoted concentric with said arms, a plurality of pawls mounted on said notched bar engaging with said ratchet, and mechanism connecting said ratchet and feedscrew, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a matrix-making machine, the carriage, the feed-screw, the shaft r mechanism connecting said shaft and feed-screw, keylevers, a bar having notches of different depth lying below all of the key-levers and secured to arms which are loosely mounted on said shaft, a ratchet loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutching device for connecting and disconnecting said ratchet and shaft, and a pawl carried by said bar and engaging with said ratchet, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a matrix-making machine, in combination, a transversely-movable carriage, a clamping-plate for clamping a matrix-block onto said carriage, mechanism for operating said clamping-plate, and a fixed arm adapted to engage with and move said operating mechanism when the carriage is traveling to the left, thereby moving the clamping-plate in the releasing direction, and a second fixed arm adapted to engage with and move said operating mechanism when the carriage is traveling to the right, thereby moving the clamping-plate in the opposite direction, a hopper secured to the carriage having open ings in the lower ends of both sides, and a fixed bar adapted to enter the right side of said hopper, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a matrix-making machine, the transversely-movable carriage, a vertically-movable clamping-plate on said carriage, two rock-shafts mounted on the carriage, mechanism connecting said rock-shafts and clamping-plate, and weighted arms secured to said rock-shafts and connected together, combined with two fixed arms adapted to engage with said arms, substantially as and for the pur pose specified.

7. In a matrix-making machine, the keylevers having the fingers b the late rally-movable bar lying beneath all of the key-levers and having the holes 1, combined with the transversely movable carriage, the feedscrew, and mechanism intermediate of sail feed-screw and laterally-movable bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

S. In a matrix-making machine, in combination, a transversely-movable carriage, a fixed copy-holder, a justifying-bar slidable in front of said copy-holder, a pivoted lever, and links. connecting the said lever on opposite sides of its pivot to the carriage and the j ustifyingg-plate respectively, substantially as and with the carriage and j ustifying-bar, substanfor the purpose specified. tially as and for the purpose specified. IO

9. In a mutriX-nmking machine, in eoinbi- In testimony whereof I affix my signature nation, a transversely-movable carriage, a in presence of two witnesses. 5 fixed copy-holder, and a justifying-plate slid- CHARLES SEARS.

able in front of said copy-holder, a lever piv- \Vitnesses: oted on an adjustable fulcrum, and inechan- EDWIN L. THURSTON, ism connecting opposite ends of said lever NELLIE M. \VOOD. 

